Severe Thunderstorms and Heavy Rainfall in the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes; Winter Weather in the Northern Tier

A slow moving front extending from the Great Lakes region into the Plains will bring snow, wintry mix, and ice accumulation north of the front from the Upper Midwest into New England, and severe weather and heavy rain south of the front. Scattered severe thunderstorms with damaging gusts, severe hail, and heavy rain are expected across parts of the Great Lakes/Midwest through tonight. Read More >

Overview

A Storm System moved northeast from the Gulf Coast States on Thursday the 11th of December, and brought with it a mix of rain, freezing rain and snow to Central PA. The precipitation lasted into the early morning of the 12th.

While the lower elevations in the Southern and Central sections of the state remained plain rain through the entire event, the ridges in the Central Mountains received heavy ice accretions from freezing rain. Most of the precipitation across the Northern Mountains fell as snow, but some icing was also seen there.

Heavy rain fell in the Lower Susquehanna Valley, and even set a record daily rainfall for the 11th at Harrisburg, where 2.29 inches of rain fell. This heavy rain created minor flooding along the Swatara Creek.


Surface map from the morning of Thursday 12-11-2008	Map of Snow and Ice Totals	Hydrograph (River Stage Time-Plot) for the Swatara Creek at Harper Tavern, PA